


Self proclaimed robot children wont cure loneliness

by AShinyTurquoise



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, So they are going untagged, This piece is very Rhys-Centric, You dont see any other characters till right at the very end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2020-10-29 08:42:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20793848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AShinyTurquoise/pseuds/AShinyTurquoise
Summary: An old fic from 2017 that underwent a light polish to fix a few errors, I tried to keep it as close to the original as i could, Thought i had actually posted it but i...never did? I recall fully intending to but it seems i thought i already had at some point so i never bothered to check.Now, for the summary:(presumably) Post events of TFTB Rhys finds himself alone in an old Atlas facility mourning what if's and could of beens, also features talking toasters.Disclaimer: May or may not of been replaying Fallout New Vegas at the time of writing this and may or may not have been inspired by the talking AI Devices in Old World Blues i can recall that as much (sorry not sorry)According to my notes i also wrote this while on a caffeine high and fulled with too much sugar after over 24 hours of no sleep if it's original title and notes are anything to go by. I did my best with what was there but didn't want to add to it as i didnt recall if there was more to it than what i had put to type back in 2017.





	Self proclaimed robot children wont cure loneliness

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully i fixed any formatting errors when i copypasted the text into A03, it should hopefully be fully presentable, apologies if i missed a segment.

Rhys found it awfully lonely at the Atlas facility by himself, The loneliness and solitude was by this point almost crippling, Only the comfort of otherwise inanimate (or mostly inanimate) robotic appliances with rudimentary AI protocols and personalities helped take the edge off it, Not all of them he had to make himself as in a few places he found AI personality templates, It wasn't the most perfect of substitutes for the companionship of a fellow human being or two, Or three, Or fou-- Okay you get the picture.  
  
For quite a while it was just Rhys, Then it eventually turned into Rhys and an ever growing collection of AI’s. (Some were just personality interfaces intertwined with the programming but most were fully fledged AI of varying complexities) and the idle chatter, Even if basic or more rudimentary or even pre-programmed and predictable never-changing responses offered some form of creature comfort at this point.   
  
Compare it to an lonely person who fills the void with pets-- except instead of animals it’s robots and AI.  
  
(Rhys really was _ that _ lonely. Only he felt better about it than if he was talking to an object or robot or thing that couldn't talk back)   
  
There wasn't much stopping him from wandering into a nearby settlement to get his fix of socialisation it…  
  
Well  
  
It wasn't the same, _ Not quite _. 

  
It was hard to muster up the motivation when the people he wanted to talk to most were his friends not strangers, Even if talking to strangers he found himself almost always yearning for the company of his friends instead, The AI’s having taken on the seemingly hollow role of companionship.  
  
So Rhys as of late was more of an hermit, He only stood outside if it was absolutely necessary, He’s not by any means agoraphobic or anything just...Pining for what’s _ not _ what _ isn’t. _ Not quite homesickness in the true sense of the term as it’s not about ‘home’ more than it is yearning for his friends and their company _ \--presence-- _ than ‘home’ _ . _ If anything he was painfully lonely and going out and being around strangers only made him notice it more and it, In a sense, Amplified it.

The AI’s have since given a sense of liveliness and familiarity to the place after a while-- but it couldn't quell the deep seated soul searing loneliness by any means or seem to serve any more a purpose than to take a slight edge off it.  
  
  
Even said amount was only miniscule.   
  
  
At least the base wasn't so painfully quiet and aside from the faint hum of machinery and systems no signs of life (well, that werent electronic by any mean anyway) and the quietness making his thoughts stand out more and only further torture him with the crippling feeling of solitude already bad enough after so long the silence, Abject lack of any signs of other living, Breathing, Human beings, Only amplifying the effects he was feeling.   
  
The glorified vacuum cleaner _ (roomba) _ and the toaster were arguing again, Rhys was sitting about trying to fix up an old gun prototype _ (his specialty was robots, Computers and electronics, Not guns okay! _ ...Though some _ might _ by _ technicality _ not be that much different by this point)   
  
It wasn't unusual, It had became a common enough occurrence, It wasn't every day but most weeks the two appliances had something to bicker about. Now not every appliance in the facility in Rhys’s Self Designated Workspace And Living Quarters had an AI or the like, A good three quarters were mundane but the other quarter had some form of AI or installed persona.   
  
To an outsider it might seem ridiculous or extreme or downright unnecessary but it had become the norm for Rhys.

Burying himself in projects to try to stave of his own loneliness and yearning for his friends while listening to the goings on of the various synthetic -purely robotic by all means- life forms surrounding him that is. 

Most days he entertained the thought of at least trying to find them but with no leads or means to (his echo device was absolutely decimated too so it’s not like it could be used as a fallback-- Nothing salvageable_ even for him. _) and some days it made him want to give up, Others cry, Some days he flopped onto the bed and sobbed about how useless and how much he felt like a failure of an human being. 

He wasn't sure that when he made attempts to find them if he _ just wasn't trying hard enough _ or if they really were proving to be rather elusive.  
  
Even if he did find an echo or mustered up the courage to ask if anybody had an old spare, his own was so far gone that nothing on it was accessible, And, Even if they weren't would the details still be the same? There was no guarantees.

It wasn't like he had any leads, Not like he was outside to find any either as being around living breathing human beings was not something he could bear in recent weeks...Months even? Fuck if he knew his sense of time was shot to hell he barely knew the difference between five minutes and an hour most days.   
  
  
_Here _ was better than _ there _at least. It wasn’t favourable but it was something.

He didn't even know the fate of his friends, Did they even care? If so Why? Were any of them even still alive after _ that? _

Some days the AI were sufficient enough in distracting him for a while and on other days...Not so much. AIl his companions as of late are but it was better than nothing, _ Better than the alternative _.

He’d like to say he was fine but he wasn’t, Not at the very core of things at least, But he was managing. Managing better than he was if he hadn’t of has some very rudimentary AI’s slash appliances for company.   
  
There is a silent thanks to the bored late Atlas employees that were bored enough to code some AI’s of varying qualities to save him the trouble of feeling like he stooped so low as to make one himself to make the place feel more lively. (After that discovery on one of that various computers all he needed was a compatible host-- Or to modify something so it _ could _)   
  
Some weren't fit to use but some weren't so bad.  
  
Rhys flops over his (can it even be considered his? I mean the whole place is abandoned and is pretty much his now) table and contemplates the meaning of his pitiful feeling existence.  
  
  
_New development: _ Despite all their major misunderstandings and petty beef they had with each other the toaster and the roomba have recently declared each other best friends-- Rhys nearly choked on his coffee when he heard that exchange, Even the old busted up faulty atlas droid he has since dubbed ‘dumpy’ let out a surprised sounding beep-- It’s vocal processors faulty, So who knows what dumpy actually said for sure but Rhys agreed nonetheless. Rhys makes a note to try to take another crack at trying to fix dumpy up some time (But so far the vocal processors have proven faulty to a...Well, _ Fault _ thus far)  
  
By this point Rhys assumes he’ll need to find old parts off the same model, It’s likely a fault with something underlying that involves new parts not just something one can fix using what is.  
  
Rhys isn't even going to pretend he knows how much time has passed even since he’s been here as he lies on the bed and stares at the roof, Pondering.   
  
He ends up caught in round three hundred and seventy six of debating with himself about trying to hunt down his friends, Is it too late? Where are they? Are they still alive even? Do they_ even care _ for that matter?  
  
The following morning is passed with an amicable conversation with the toaster as it toasts his toast. The novelty of talking appliances hasn't quite fully wore off yet even if they don't feel like proper substitutes for some good ‘ol human interaction.  
  
He spends the rest of the day asking himself if he is really that lonely that he has tried replacing his friends with robots and then proceeds to feel guilty about that very fear for the ninety sixth time. He then wonders if any of his friends will have that very opinion when or if they find him (or he finds them). Or if he’s just being paranoid and proceeds to make himself cry, Again, For the third time that day.

Today is not a good day.  


Nothing notable today other than trading some trinkets for certain food supplies, Food doesn't just grow on trees you know.

…

….

Okay, Okay yes food _does_ and _can _in fact grow on trees, _But_ _bread_ _doesn’t_. You ever seen a bread tree before? No? I didn't think so either.  
  
Rhys had made just enough of a presence of himself around these parts that he was able to be tracked down by Vaughn.  
  
Fiona was nearby and not in view (who was accompanying Vaughn, Not that Rhys knew that yet) but the unmistakable sobbing of Rhys was within earshot and drew her attention.  
  
It was sheer luck, At the right place at the right time, If it wasn't for the fact that Rhys loitering in this area at this very time on this very day being routine the two could of easily missed each other completely. (Not that Rhys didn't _ try _ in the first place just with all his doubts and what-if’s and maybe’s piled up on top of each other he tended to look but tended to ‘stay closer to home’ than go on long winded trips as more often than not his doubts outweighed his motivation to do so)  
  
Rhys was lurched over Vaughn and was basically trapping the guy in the most awkward looking hug known to man, He was sniffling and saying all a manner of things, Vaughn tried being reassuring, But the second he dared mention it Rhys started lamenting while Vaughn, Now patting his back in a manner he sincerely hoped was reassuring, What if he has finally snapped and started hallucinating? The commotion had caught Fiona’s attention and in response to his borderline wailing told him to quit snivelling and that if they were a hallucination _could she do_ _this_ and slapped Rhys square across the side of the face with a loud _thwack_.  
  
Rhys was too overjoyed to care about the first thing she did was to whack him and commented on how he missed her too of which was met by moving his limbs currently tangled around Vaughn to Fiona latching onto her and fussing about him getting tears and snot all over her clothes To which when she looked to Vaughn he just shrugged and gave an half smile as if to say it’s her turn to deal with Rhys. Vaughn resumed patting Rhys on the back, Saying they have all the time in the world and contrary to his fears they aren't going to disappear on him. Besides, She cared in her own way even if she’d rather not let it show as readily. He’d let them have their moment.  
  
Rhys was genuinely the happiest he’d been in a really long time even if it was hard to tell under all the tears.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the end it had? It..might...feel a bit sudden but i didn't want to change it too much. 
> 
> It's been...a really long time. I wrote this somewhere around mid 2017, thats..a...pretty long time. Okay maybe not THAT long but enough time to forget if i was going anywhere else with it or was like 'This THIS is the end, I just dont know how to describe it properly'


End file.
